I watched them and wondered why she was never this way when Yuri was around.
As if on cue, all the hair at the back of my neck stood, and I knew that he must be approaching. When I looked up to his face, I had the answer to my question. His presence wasn’t cold, at least to me, but he was just intimidating. Very. Unlike his uncle who just seemed like a gentle, kind, caring man.
At the entrance to the breakfast room he stopped. His face was cold and closed. He said something to his uncle in Russian and turned away to take his leave.
With a smile at Yulia, Ivan rose to his feet. He spoke to her in Russian and she nodded happily. I guess he must have promised he’d be right back.
I always poured the coffee for Yuri. It was always the first thing he consumed before he ate. “What do you think, Yulia? Shall I take some coffee in for your uncle?
She nodded.
I poured the coffee and carried it out to his study. I had just placed my knuckles on the heavy oak door to knock on it when I heard crashing sounds from within the room.
My heart jumped in my chest, as I staggered, the hot dark roast spilling all over my hands. I dropped the cup and it shattered into pieces on the granite floor. “Shit,” I cursed and instantly bent down and began to pick it up.
At that moment the door was pulled open and I looked up to see Ivan standing in the doorway. To my shock he was swaying unsteadily, his face was pale, and his lip was busted.
“Are you okay?” he asked me, even though he was the one who was bleeding.
In my peripheral vision, I could see Yuri taking his seat calmly. It confused me so much that my hand tightened on a shard of porcelain cutting my finger. A soft cry escaped my lips.
Instantly, Yuri pushed out of his chair and started striding towards me.
However, Ivan was already crouching down to help me.
“April,” Yuri called urgently. He looked anxious.
“It’s okay. I’m fine,” I replied and rose up.
“Show me,” he ordered, with a frown.
“It’s nothing. It’s just a little cut,” I said, aware of Ivan watching me. I didn’t want him to know that Yuri and I were lovers.
“I’ll get one of the maids to clean it up,” I said and hurried away.
As I went, I heard Ivan roar out something in anger. I turned around to see that three of his security had appeared out of nowhere. They handled Ivan with less grace than should have been given to a grand uncle and in shock, I turned to gaze at Yuri.
He was watching me without any expression at all.
This is one of the reasons we can’t be together. Your world is terrifying.
Chapter 38
April
(I Regret Nothing)
Later that night, both Yulia and I were packed, awaiting our ride to the airport. Soon an entourage of a Mercedes Benz backed by two SUVs arrived and the both of us were ushered into the Benz by Alex.
Yuri drove us personally, while the other two vehicles escorted us and in no time, we were at the airport. The door was pulled open by Brain. Waiting on the tarmac was a private plane, two air hostesses, and a pilot.
I saw another side of Alex then. Despite his enormous size, he jumped out of the car and kept an eagle eye on our transfer from the cars to the plane. Through the doorway, I could see two more security men present. It made me wonder why Yuri always had to have so much security around him. Was this all for Yulia’s benefit? He did seem to be paranoid about her safety. Perhaps for the rich, the risk of being kidnapped was always foremost in their minds.
We were welcomed aboard and ushered to our seats by a pristinely polished hostess with a flawless bun, and dark red lipstick.
Yuri quickly settled himself with a laptop across his desk and started speaking in French to someone on his phone.
Yulia sat next to me while Yuri continued on with his call, his gaze alternating between her and me.
The service was excellent. We had sliced fresh fruit, finger sandwiches, little cakes and scones.
I noticed Yuri didn’t eat. He worked steadily for a while before he rose to his feet and took his leave from the cabin.
When Yulia fell asleep, I carefully covered her sleeping form with a blanket and went in search of him. The plane was big, I couldn’t find him so eventually, I asked Brain.
He pointed to a door. “He is in there.”
I hesitated, then I reminded myself, I had absolutely nothing to fear, but the limited time I had left with him. I walked over to the door. Without knocking, I pushed it open and went in.